Belfast Central Scoops ‘OVERALL BEST STATION’ Title At The International Station Awards 2008 - Press Releases - News - Translink

Belfast Central Scoops Best International Station Award: Receiving the Award for ‘Overall Best Station of the Year’ at the Waterford Crystal International Station Awards 2008 are Philip Blair, Route Manager, Central (centre) and John Ferguson, Central Station Supervisor with award presenter Heidi Mottram, Managing Director, Northern Rail. NI Railways picked up the accolade after beating off stiff competition from across the UK and Europe, including First Transpennine Express, Northern Rail, Iarnród Éireann and NedRailways. Picture by Brian Morrison

Belfast Central Station received the prestigious title of ‘Overall Best Station’ of the Year’ for the second year running at the Waterford Crystal International Station Awards 2008 held in Belfast last night (Thursday 13th November).

NI Railways picked up the top accolade after beating off stiff competition from other rail companies across the UK and Europe including: Northern, First TransPennine Express, Iarnród Éireann and NedRailways.

The competition rewards the effort and commitment of railway stations who have worked hard to provide excellent passenger facilities and customer service. It showcases stations on an international platform and allows participating companies to learn from industry best practice and to develop strong working relationships with other rail operators.

Station entries were divided into three categories – Best Small Station, Best Medium Station and Best Large Station – with the winners of each category then eligible for the coveted ‘Overall Best Station of the Year’ title.

Belfast Central also collected the ‘Best Large Station’ Award and Carrickfergus was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ status in the ‘Best Small Station’ category.

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Speaking at the awards, Catherine Mason, Group Chief Executive, NITHC and Translink said:

“We are delighted to be presented with the award for ‘Overall Best Station of the Year’. The title reflects the dedication of NI Railways employees at Belfast Central to provide first class facilities and outstanding customer service as well as maximizing and building on station investment programmes and infrastructure improvements.

“Central lies at the heart of our local rail network. It plays a vital role in meeting the transport needs of both local and visiting rail passengers acting as a gateway to many cities, towns and villages. We are extremely proud of the standard of facilities and service provided at Central and all NI Railways stations and look forward to building on this great achievement.”

Judges marked each station on key criteria including: appearance, facilities, transport links and customer focus as well as looking for evidence of staff commitment and pride in service delivery.

Chairman of the judging panel Wayne Dixon said that Belfast Central was an outstanding example of a modern and accessible urban station:

“The standard of awards entries were extremely high and Belfast Central really stood out as an excellent railway station with motivated and dedicated staff.

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“The judging panel was also extremely impressed by the wide range of station facilities including park & ride, CCTV, café, shop and bicycle shelters that all combine to make passenger experiences more enjoyable, consequently encouraging them to travel by train more often.” said Mr Dixon.

For full details of results click www.translink.co.uk .

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Belfast Central was officially reopend in March 2003 following a £6 million refurbishment programme.
It is NI Railway’s flagship station catering for 50,000 passengers per week as the hub of main commuter lines and the main departure/arrival station for the cross-border Enterprise service.

2008 RESULTS:

SMALL STATION

MEDIUM STATION

LARGE STATION

Windermere – Winner

(First TransPennine Express)

Manchester Airport – Winner

(First TransPennine Express)

Belfast Central – Winner

(NI Railways)

Carrickfergus - Highly Commended

(NI Railways)

St Helens - Highly Commended

(Northern)

Blackpool North - Highly Commended

(Northern)

OVERALL WINNER: Belfast Central Station (NI Railways)

All judging took place in September 2008.

· Award winners were each presented with exquisite Waterford Crystal bowls and vases with the overall award winner receiving a beautiful crystal centre piece.